Bank of New York Mellon Profit Halved In Third Quarter

The Bank of New York Mellon Thursday reported sharply lower third-quarter earnings, as the financial crisis slowed business activity and pressured margins, but still managed to beat analysts' EPS expectations.

The company said it earned 26 cents a share, or $305 million dollars, on a continuing operations basis, vs. 56 cents, or $642 million, in the year-ago period. Revenue was $3.63 billion.

"In the face of unprecedented market volatility our operating performance exceeded expectations, driven by the strength and diversity of our securities servicing and asset management businesses,:" the company said in a statement.

Bank of New York Mellon is one of nine big institutions talking part in the federal government's recently announced redcapitlaization plan. It also won the bidding to run the Treasury's auction of bad mortgage debt.

Citigroup Thursday reported a loss that nearly matched market expectations, coming in at 71 cents a share in the third quarter, on big writedowns.